Gideon Short was a championship wrestler in high school at West Mifflin, an engineering student at Penn State and an all-around good guy, according to his friends.

The Penn State sophomore died Friday in a car crash near Kittanning when his girlfriend, Brittany Maycock, lost control of her car and crashed into traffic in the oncoming lane. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Short, who came out of high school as a highly recruited wrestling prospect, made the decision to concentrate on academics in college, said Tony Salopek, Short's high school wrestling coach.

Salopek said Short started his wrestling career late, in seventh grade, but quickly became dedicated to the sport. "We were working out at 6 in the morning before school," he said.

Salopek said he became very close to Short and that Short used to call his house and disguise his voice to fool Salopek's wife. "He had the distinct ability to drive me crazy and at the same time make me as proud as a coach can be," Salopek said.

At Penn State, friends described him as friendly, outgoing and humorous.

Larissa Cleary (sophomore-administrative justice) met Short during the summer of her freshman year in West Halls. "He was a very outgoing person and the first person to introduce himself to me," Cleary said.

Cleary added that about 20 people would often crowd into Short's room to watch home videos.

"He was infamous on that floor for his video camera," she said. "He went out and we'd always have these home videos of us from that summer."

Jabra Tannous, a resident assistant in Holmes Hall, where Short lived, said he met Short this year and was immediately taken by his friendly demeanor.

Short's friends designed a Web site, http://s87220081.onlinehome.us/gideon.htm, to honor his memory. It has more than 22 pages of comments from friends and acquaintances, including the University of Pittsburgh's wrestling team, which recruited him. Many echoed others' comments about Short's humor and personality.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Morning Star Baptist Church in West Mifflin.

Collegian staff writer Tyler Shaffer contributed to this report.